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North Korean Said to Be Willing to Resume Talks

BEIJING, Tuesday, Feb. 22 - North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Il, has told a Chinese envoy that he would be willing to resume diplomatic negotiations over his country's nuclear program, but only when "conditions are ripe," according to state media reports in China and North Korea.

Mr. Kim also said North Korea would return to the talks only if the United States showed "sincerity."

Mr. Kim's seemingly softer stance, if characteristically vague and open ended, was taken after North Korea jolted diplomatic efforts this month by announcing for the first time that it already possessed nuclear weapons and would not return to disarmament talks.

In a meeting on Monday with a senior Chinese official dispatched to Pyongyang, Mr. Kim reportedly said North Korea remained committed to the continuing six-nation negotiations organized by China to defuse the nuclear crisis.

His comments, reported Tuesday morning in China's and North Korea's official media, were made in discussions with Wang Jiarui, a senior Chinese envoy. Mr. Wang also brought a personal message from President Hu Jintao emphasizing the need for a peaceful solution to the nuclear problem and a resumption of talks.

The unpredictable behavior of the North has put China in a difficult position, as it remains North Korea's principal ally and economic sponsor yet also wants a nuclear-free and stable Korean peninsula. The previous rounds of the six-nation talks, for which China has been the host, have brought little tangible progress.

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Earlier this month, North Korea's announcement that it would not return to the talks surprised American officials. Two delegations of American lawmakers visited North Korea in January and said they believed that the country was ready to resume negotiations.

Perhaps signaling that North Korea was now more amenable to returning to the table, Mr. Kim reportedly told Mr. Wang that he favored a nuclear-free Korean peninsula.

"He said that the D.P.R.K. would as ever stand for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and its position to seek a peaceful solution to the issue through dialogue remains unchanged," Mr. Kim said, according to the North's official Korea Central News Agency.

The official report added that North Korea "has never opposed" the six-nation talks organized by China. "We will go to the negotiating table anytime if there are mature conditions for the six-party talks," he said, adding that he hoped "the United States would show trustworthy sincerity," according to a text released by the North Korean news agency.

Left unclear is what North Korea considers to be evidence of American sincerity. North Korea has repeatedly accused the United States of hostile behavior, even as the Bush administration has softened its language in recent months.

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A version of this article appears in print on February 22, 2005, on Page A00006 of the National edition with the headline: North Korean Said to Be Willing to Resume Talks. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe